23-month-old still in critical condition a day after crash

A toddler critically injured Friday in a three-vehicle wreck on Maricamp Road remains hospitalized, according to Florida Highway Patrol troopers.

By Austin L. MillerStaff writer

A toddler critically injured Friday in a three-vehicle wreck on Maricamp Road remains hospitalized, according to Florida Highway Patrol troopers.Also, the driver of one of the vehicles, Nathan Thomas Pyles — whose car authorities said plowed into the back of a Nissan Sentra in which the 23-month-old boy was a passenger — had been released from Munroe Regional Medical Center, as had his 8-year-old stepdaughter, Aubrey Heffler.However, on Saturday afternoon, the 42-year-old Pyles showed up at the emergency room at Ocala Regional Medical Center, where he was admitted and was in fair condition as of Saturday night, according to spokeswoman Suzanne Santangelo.Kenneth Hereha, the 23-month-old who was strapped in a car seat, was in critical condition at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, troopers said Saturday.The child's three other siblings — Alejandro Aldana, 8; Anthony Martinez, 8; and Kevin Martinez, 12 — were in stable condition at Shands, officials said.Kenneth was originally transported to ORMC, but later was transferred to Shands for further treatment. All the children are from Silver Springs Shores and were wearing their seat belts when the accident occurred, troopers said.Yolanda Aldana, 39, mother of the four children, is at ORMC and was listed in serious but stable condition, Santangelo said. She also had been wearing her seat belt at the time of the crash, troopers said.Jaron Lee Ang, the driver of a Dodge Caravan, did not go to the hospital even though he told a trooper that his leg hurt. Ang, 27, of Gainesville, told the trooper he may go to the hospital. He was wearing his seat belt, officials said.Witnesses told troopers that Ang's 2011 Caravan was stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of Southeast Maricamp Road and 31st Street in the right lane.A 2011 white Nissan Sentra driven by Yolanda Aldana, with five occupants, four of whom were children, stopped behind the van.Officials said that a 2012 black BMW driven by Pyles did not brake and then slammed into the back of the Nissan so hard that the collision stood the Nissan upright on its front bumper. The car then slid forward and slammed into the back of the Dodge, launching it forward.Marion County sheriff's deputy Stephen Juliano was the first law enforcement official on scene and was told by a woman at the scene that Kenneth Hereha, who was buckled correctly into his car safety seat, was not breathing.Kelly Owens, a firefighter/paramedic, was able to get into the car and took Kenneth out and rushed him to an awaiting ambulance.At MRMC, Pyles told Trooper Alain Fernandez that he doesn't remember what happened or doesn't remember how fast he was going. The speed limit at the crash site is 55 mph.The crash blocked traffic for several hours as troopers investigated the scene, firefighters cleaned up loose debris and tow truck operators removed mangled vehicles.It's not the first time an accident has occurred at the location, which within the last several weeks has had a traffic light installed at the intersection.In late October, Michael Phillip Dangelo, 35, of Silver Springs Shores, was killed when the Jeep Grand Cherokee he was driving slammed into the back of a flatbed truck being used in a road-striping project. The stationary truck had a large arrow on it pointing to the next lane.Two workers assigned to the truck were not injured. They were in front of it, striping the roadway, troopers said.